Portable toilet with bottom discharge valve

ABSTRACT

A PORTABLE TOILET WHICH HAS A BOTTOM DISCHARGE VALVE IN THE FORM OF A FLEXIBLE TUBE WHICH IS CLOSED BY A LINKAGE ACTUATED PAIR OF OPPOSED PLATES, AND WHICH HAS A HOLLOW COVER ADAPTED TO CONTAIN A CHARGE OF CLEANING AND RINSING LIQUID AND VALVE MEANS TO CONTROL THE DISCHARGE OF THE CLEANING AND RINSING LIQUID INTO THE BOWL OF THE TOILET AND TO BREAK THE VACUUM IN THE BOWL.

March 2, 1971 G. J. DANKO 3,566,419

PORTABLE TOILET WITH BOTTOM DISCHARGE VALVE Filed April 2, 1969 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENT )R GEORGE J. DANKO March 2, 1971 DANKQ 3,566,419

PORTABLE TOILET WITH BOTTOM DISCHARGE VALVE Filed April 3, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1; l4 5 IO N18 I9 25 5 i 2O] n 'rA INVEN'K )R GEORGE J. DAN KO ATTORNEYS F165 BY United States Patent O 3,566,419 PORTABLE TOILET WITH BOTTOM DISCHARGE VALVE George J. Danko, Glenmar Park, Md. (Rte. 1, Box 276-A, White Stone, Va. 22578) Filed Apr. 2, 1969, Ser. No. 830,167 Int. Cl. A47k 11/02 US. Cl. 4-128 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A portable toilet which has a bottom discharge valve in the form of a flexible tube which is closed by a linkage actuated pair of opposed plates, and which has a hollow cover adapted to contain a charge of cleaning and rinsing liquid and valve means to control the discharge of the cleaning and rinsing liquid into the bowl of the toilet and to break the vacuum in the bowl.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention The present invention relates to a portable toilet, and more particularly it relates to a portable toilet which is lightweight and compact, yet which can be easily emptied and cleaned after it has been used by simply positioning it over a waste disposal apparatus, such as a conventional fixed installation toilet, and a valve means in the bottom of the portable toilet opened while a flushing fluid is fed into the portable toilet from the cover thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART There are presently available many portable toilets, some of which collapse, others of which do not collapse but which are compact and easy to use insofar as their primary purpose is concerned. However, all of them, insofar as applicant is aware, require that they either be inverted to empty them following use, or require that a replaceable liner of some sort be removed from the more permanent part of the device, and the liner and its contents disposed of. When persons are travelling there is often no place in which it is convenient or even possible to empty and then clean a portable toilet. Even when facilities are available, the job is very unpleasant and often quite unsanitary.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable toilet which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art devices, yet which is light in weight, compact, and easy to empty and clean.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such a portable toilet which has a simple discharge valve which will stay clean with a minimum of cleaning and which will not deteriorate or clog, and which is positioned so that the toilet can be emptied without having to invert it, for example by simply standing it on a conventional fixed installation flush toilet.

'It is a still further object of the invention to provide such a portable toilet which has a storage space for a charge of cleaning fluid within the cover thereof and means for discharging the charge into the interior of the toilet during the emptying thereof.

The portable toilet according to the invention comprises a bowl of lightweight yet strong material, which bowl has a simple downward opening in the bottom thereof from which extends a flexible tube. The flexible I 3,566,419 Patented Mar. 2, 1971 cover into the bowl when the cover is closed to spray the cleaning fluid into the bowl when the bowl is being emptied.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the portable toilet according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof with the cover in the closed position;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view thereof with the cover removed;

FIG. 4 is a sectional elevation view of the toilet with the cover in the closed position; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The portable toilet according to the invention comprises a base portion 10 which is generally cylindrical although tapering slightly upwardly and outwardly from the bottom thereof, and a bowl 11 defined by a bowl wall 12 which is a continuation of the wall of the base portion 10 and a bowl bottom 13 within the bowl wall =12 and having the periphery thereof attached to the inner surface of the bowl wall. The bowl bottom 13 is generally downwardly concave and has a bottom neck 14 projecting downwardly from the lowest portion thereof, preferably the center, which defines a bowl bottom opening 15. Secured around the neck 14 and extending downwardly so as to form a continuation thereof is a flexible resilient outlet tube 18, which is preferably of a rubber-like material such as neoprene, a long chain synthetic rubber sold under this trademark by Du Pont. The flexible outlet tube 18 extends through a base opening 17 in the bottom of a base depression 16 in the bottom of the base portion 10, the base opening 17 being aligned with the bowl bottom opening 15. The end of the flexible tube 18 terminates short of the level of the bottom of the base portion 10 so that when the portable toilet stands on a flat surface, the end of the flexible tube 18 does not touch the flat surface.

A closing means is provided for closing the flexible tube 18, and in the preferred embodiment is in the form of a pair of opposed clamp members 20, which are simple flat, elongated, rigid members having the edges thereof opposed to each other. The clamp members 20 are pivoted at one end thereof to the bottom of the base depression 16 by clamp pivots 21. In their closed position shown in full lines in FIG. 5, they pinch the flexible tube 18 so as to-close it, and in their open position, shown in dotted lines, they allow the flexible tube 18 to open completely due to its natural resilience.

Actuating means for the closing means is provided in the form of a linkage 19 which comprises two links 20, each of which at one end bears against the free edge of a clamp member and at the other end is pivoted to the bottom of the base depression 16 by a link pivot 24. An actuating handle is rotatably connected to the links 23 and is movable in a direction generally parallel to the length of the clamp members 20 through a slot 26 in the wall of the base portion 10. The actuating handle is here shown as a rod member bent to an appropriate shape. The actuating means also includes spring means engaged with the clamp members 20 biasing them against each other. The spring means in the preferred embodiment is a substantially circular spring 27 with a gap therein with the ends at the gap engaged with the outer edges of the clamp members 20.

At the top edge of the bowl wall 12 is an inturned flange 28 which, as seen in FIG. 3, has the shape of a toilet seat.

Hinged to the-top of the bowl wall 12 at one side thereof by a hinge 30 is a cover 29 which has a hollow interior 31. A neck 32 projects upwardly from the top of the cover 29, defining a cover opening 33 through which liquid can be charged into the hollow interior 31. A cap 34 is provided which is attachable to the neck 32 by a friction fit, screw threads, or other means common in the art. A downward projection 35 is provided on the bottom surface of the cover and has a shape corresponding to the opening in the toilet seat defined by the flange 28. It should be noted that the bottom surface of the hollow interior 31 which is defined by the downward projection 35 slopes downwardly to a low spot, preferably in the center of the cover. A hollow center post 38 extends between the top and bottom surfaces of the hollow interior 31, and at the junction with the bottom surface has a plurality of openings 39 providing communication between the hollow interior 31. The lower end of post 38 projects below the bottom of the cover to form a valve seat for a restraining valve. Projecting downwardly from the bottom surface of the cover 29 is a spray head 36 having a hollow interior into which the hollow center post 38 opens, and at the outer periphery of the spray head is a plurality of spray openings 37 spaced around the periphery of the spray head. The bottom panel 36a is flexible and acts as a restraining valve member when it abuts the valve seat formed by projecting end of post 38. It is noted that the inner surface of the panel 36:: of the spray head slopes downwardly and outwardly from the center toward the spray openings when it is in its lowermost position.

Restraining valve actuating means are provided in the cover 29, and in the preferred embodiment comprise a hollow air tube 40 extending through the cover 29 and spray head '36 within the center post 38. The air tube is flared out beneath the bottom panel 36a and is slidable within the hollow center post 38. Vacuum relief valve means are also provided. An air valve member 42 is held in engagement with the bottom end of the air tube 40 by a spring 43 within the air tube 40. The other end of the spring 43 is attached to an actuating handle 44 which is pivoted to the end of air tube 40 and has a cam portion 44a engaged with the top surface of a cover depression so that when it lies flat in the cover depression the air tube 40 is in the lowermost position and when the handle 44 is pivoted upwardly the air tube 40 is raised to move the bottom panel 36a into engagement with the projecting end of the centerpost 38. The spring tension is such that the valve member 42 can move away from the end of the tube 40 when the vacuum grows too great.

A carrying handle 45 is pivoted to the top of the bowl wall 12.

To prepare the toilet for use, the actuating handle 25 is pushed in to close the clamp members 20 of the closing means tightly against the flexible tube '18, and the bowl 11 is charged with an appropriate amount of water and a chemical to deodorize the contents, restrict the growth of the bacteria, and to color the water to obscure the contents. When it is desired to empty the toilet, the handle 44 is pivoted upwardly to raise the hollow air tube 40 and thus the bottom panel 36a, thus closing the restraining valve. The cap 34 is removed and a charge of water, and if desired a detergent, disinfectant, or the like, is poured into the hollow interior 31 of the cover.

Then, with the cover 29 closed, the entire toilet is placed over a waste disposal apparatus, such as the bowl of a fixed installation conventional toilet, and the cap 34- is removed and the handle 25 of the linkage pulled out, thus opening the flexible tube 18. The handle 44 is then pivoted downwardly, thus lowering air tube 40 and panel 36a to open the restraining valve. The water in the hollow interior of the cover 29 will spray out of the spray openings 37 as the mixture of materials in the bowl drains out through the tube 18, thus washing down the inside of the bowl. Air is permitted to enter the bowl 11 through the air tube 40 past the air valve member 42 as the volume of the air space in the bowl increases. However, the pressure of the spring 43 holding the valve member 42 against the bottom of the air tube 40 is suflicient so that a pressure differential is maintained between the interior of the bowl 11 and the atmosphere. This enhances the action of the spray put out by the spray head 36, the liquid in 'which is under atmospheric pressure. The main effect of the vacuum relief valve is to prevent gurgling of air coming through the discharge tube 18 into the interior of the bowl and it prevents the rinse water from the cover from being exhausted before the bowl is emptied.

After the bowl is emptied, the handle 25 is pushed in again, the bowl 11 is charged again and the toilet is again ready for use.

It is preferred to make the bowl, base, cover, and other appropriate parts of the portable toilet of a lightweight hard plastic material which is inert to body waste, and also inert to cleaning, deoderizing, disinfecting and bleaching chemicals. It is also preferred to make the portable toilet about the size of a 5 gallon paint pail, i.e. about 12." in diameter and about 14 high. Thus even with a charge of water and deodorant and disinfectant therein, the device will be very light and easy to handle. It is very convenient to prepare and use, and is very neat, convenient and not at all disagreeable to empty. It can be emptied at any public toilet facility or at a private toilet facility, and if the cover is previously charged with a cleaning liquid, it is even unnecessary that the toilet facility have running water with which to clean the device.

It is thought that the invention and its advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it is apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described and illustrated in the drawings being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. A portable toilet comprising a bowl having an opening in the bottom thereof, a flexible resilient tube extending downwardly from said opening, tube closing means at the bottom of said bowl and engaging said flexible resilient tube for closing said tube and allowing said tube to open when said closing means is released, a cover hinged to said bowl for closing the top of said bowl, said cover being hollow and having a capped inlet opening therein, a spray head on the bottom surface of said cover, said spray head having a flexible bottom panel thereon, a projection on the bottom of said cover within the spray head with which the flexible panel cooperates to form said restraining valve, said projection having an opening therein opening into the interior of said cover, and actuating means connected to said flexible panel for moving it into and out of engagement with said projection,

2. A portable toilet as claimed in claim 1 in which said actuating means comprises a hollow air tube extending through said cover and attached to said flexible panel and a handle member for moving said hollow air tube, and vacuum relief means comprising a valve member engageable with the bottom end of said hollow air tube, said hollow air tube opening through said panel, and spring means within said hollow air tube holding said valve member in engagement with the bottom of said tube.

3. A portable toilet comprising a bowl having an opening in the bottom thereof, a flexible resilient tube extending downwardly from said opening, tube closing means at the bottom of said bowl and engaging said flexible resilient tube for closing said tube and allowing said tube to open when said closing means is released,

and a cleaning and rinsing means hinged to said bowl at the top of said bowl.

4. A portable toilet comprising a bowl having an opening in the bottom thereof, a flexible resilient tube extending downwardly from said opening, tube closing means at the bottom of said bowl and engaging said flexible resilient tube for closing said tube and allowing said tube to open when said closing means is released, and a cover hinged to said bowl for closing the top of said bowl, said cover including a cleaning and rinsing means for spraying a cleaning liquid into said bowl.

5. A portable toilet as claimed in claim 4 in which said cover is hollow and has a capped inlet opening therein, a spray head on the bottom surface of said cover into which the hollow interior of the cover opens, a vacuum relief valve in said cover opening through said cover, and restraining valve means between said spray head and the interior of said cover.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary 'Examiner I. H. DODGE, Assistant Examiner 

